Szabist international conference: Speakers highlight need for joint research

KARACHI:

With more than 110 research papers presented by scholars from Pakistan and other countries, the two-day 2nd International Research Conference at Szabist concluded on Saturday.

This year’s conference - attended by scholars, corporate delegates, and civil society representatives - was held on management, computing, social sciences and economics. Dr Mustaghisur Rahman, the Conference Chair, in his welcome address spoke on the importance of research in a society. “There is a need to multiply the resources devoted to research by having a stronger network of the institutions of higher learning all across the region and beyond,” he said. The academics vice-president, Dr Amanat Ali Jalbani, noted that despite being a relatively young educational institution, Szabist has made significant contributions to research in addition with academics. “We encourage analytical minds in our university.”

Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony of the conference, Social Policy and Development Center Managing Director Dr Khalida Ghous, appreciated the the university for organising the international conference. “People have still not understood the importance of research in Pakistan and that is one of the reasons we are unable to identify solutions to our socio-economic problems.”

Szabist President Dr Saqib Rizavi also emphasised that the primary aim of the researchers should be to ensure that their work is relevant to the socio-economic development of the country. Collaboration in research among institutions would lead to reduced cost and a higher impact of the research output, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2012.